Friday File: What’s Going to Happen Next Year, and What Should I Buy?

You're too kind, Frank, but thank you.

I've seen that come up in screens a few times but don't know much about the company. Will try to rectify that.

I regret not deciding to buy last winter, when it was finally reasonably priced for a few months. My challenge with PLTR has always been that they've been priced like they can earn software-like margins, but haven't actually been able to do that, their cost structure is much higher, in some ways they've been more like a consulting firm than a tech company... but they have certainly improved meaningfully on that front, and it is a big deal that they've now been profitable four quarters in a row and it looks like earnings growth is sustainable.

Knowing yourself is job one... well done!

Fear marketing/division-seeking poppycock, mostly.Yes, there is the potential for a central bank digital currency to allow governments a bit more control over our lives, and they're in the early stages of seeing if one would work in the US financial system. We don't know that meaningful centralized CBDC's will go into wide use or be misused, but it's perhaps reasonable to worry that use could lead to misuse. That could be a continuation of the very long trend of the past several decades of people willingly sacrificing small amounts of freedom and privacy for convenience or an illusion of safety.No, there's not going to be a totalitarian global government anytime soon. And if there's some extreme autocracy coming, it certainly won't be led by the UN or the WHO -- leaders of governments, whether elected or authoritarian, do not easily or often give up the power to control their currency or their country.You can throw out this kind of red meat for either extreme of the political divide, and it will be gobbled up and seem spot-on to those people who've drifted near those extremes, driven by fear or anger, so I'm sure it will keep happening. The information world is full of entrepreneurs right now, and their only goal is go attract more attention. The way to do that is with extreme predictions.I don't generally dwell on the political/social aspect of all this, when we're focused on investing I think that's largely a distraction. In general, the more we worry about extreme potential outcomes like this, or become hyperfocused on one political position or another, the more we do stupid things with our lives or our money. If those kind of things worry you, I won't argue with you about that point -- treat them as political trends or concerns and protest those things and vote against them, if that's an option. But don't let those feelings get close to your portfolio.When it comes to things like hedging and gold and cryptocurrencies and cash in the mattress, most of which are bets that the world is going to go to hell in a handbasket, I think it's best to put as much of your portfolio or savings into those things as you need to in order to quiet your fears and let you sleep at night... but no more.

In that garden metaphor, near the beginning of this article, i was wanting to make a joke about the line '...just water them and throw a little fertilizer around.'Now these marketeers' use of political fear-mongering to create a frenzy - has given me the perfect setup!